CC Reds take county title
The Cape Coral Reds had a forgettable regular season. That was clear prior to Tuesday’s Senior Little League Baseball County Tournament Championship when none of the coaches or players could remember how many games they had won before entering tournament play. It wasn’t many.
“We goofed around a lot during the regular season,” manager Chad Wise said. “When the tournament started I basically had a team huddle and told them, ‘I let you goof off all year and never got mad, but this is the tournament, this is what we want to win.’ “
The Reds took the message to heart and reeled off four wins in a row, culminating with a 3-2 victory over the Buckingham Nationals in the championship game at Buckingham Park.
The Reds did their offensive damage in the top of the first. Tyler Cardini drove in the first run with an RBI double and Dylan Placher followed with a two-run double.
With a 3-0 lead, Placher, the left-handed starter, held the Nationals off the scoreboard until they scored two runs in the sixth. He was helped throughout by outstanding defense.
The Nationals nearly scored a third run in the sixth after an RBI double by Luke O’Grady, but third baseman Cody Tilden made a good relay throw to Cardini to cut down the potential tying run at the plate. Tilden then came on in relief of Placher and retired the Nationals in order in the seventh.
“The key was we just played harder than we did in the regular season,” Tilden said.
“We played as a team,” Michael Watson added, “and didn’t get down on people that made errors. Instead we picked each other up.”
The Reds’ tournament run began with a pair of eight-inning victories. They defeated the Buckingham Twins 6-2 to advance to the title game. Cardini hit a three-run blast in that contest, while Tilden and Watson each delivered strong pitching performances.
Placher continued that theme Tuesday, scattering four hits. Among the top defensive performers was shortstop Arik Wise-Sparks, who used his range and arm to make some clutch plays.
Wise-Sparks and Watson each singled and scored in the Reds’ three-run first.
Cape Coral Reds 300 000 0 – 3 6 3
Buck. Nationals 000 002 x – 2 4 1
W – Dylan Placher. L – Sloan.
2B – Tyler Cardini (CC), Placher (CC), O’Grady (Buck).